Door-fastener.



A. BERDAN.

DOOR PASTENER.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. a, 1909.

Patented Nov. 23, 1909.

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nnirnn erases PATENT err-nee.

ALMO BERDAN, or ORTONVILLE, MINNESOTA.

nooR-rAs'rnNER.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALMo BERDAN, citizen of the United States, residingat Ortonville, in the county of Bigstone and State of Minnesota, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Door-Fasteners, of whichthe following is a specification.

This invention comprehends certain new and useful improvements infastening devices for swinging doors or the like, and the invention hasfor its object a simple, durable and efficient device of this characterwhich is susceptible of application to both rightand left-hand swingingdoors, and may be employed with doors of different thicknesses; which isarranged to effectually hold the door in closed position, and admits ofthe same being opened from both sides when desired; which may be easilyand cheaply manufactured, and which possesses certain other advantagesthat will become at once apparent as the invention is hereinafter disclosed.

lVith this and other objects in view that will more fully appear as thedescription proceeds, the invention consists in certain constructionsand arrangements of the parts that I shall hereinafter fully describe,and then point out tie novel features thereof in the appended claims.

F or a full understanding of the invention and the merits thereof, andto acquire a knowledge of the details of construction, reference is tobe had to the following description and accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure l is a perspective view illustrating the application of myimproved door fastener; and, Fig. 2 is a sectional view thereof.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the followingdescription and indicated in both views of the drawing by the samereference characters.

Referring to the drawing,-the numeral 1 designates a swinging door whichmay be of any desired or approved construction or design, as forinstance, a barn door or the like, and which is preferably mounted inand arranged to close against a suitable frame 2.

My improved fastening device consists es sentially of a spindle 3 whichpasses through and is rotatably mounted in the door 1 in proximity tothe swinging end thereof. The ends of this spindle project beyond theopposite faces of the door, and one end of the Specification of LettersPatent. Patented N 23, 1909, Application filed February 8, 1909.

Serial No. 476,714.

spindle, preferably the one arranged at the inner face thereof, isprovided with a handle at which is preferably formed by bending theextremity of the spindle to constitute a laterally extending closedloop, as shown. An expansion spring 5 encircles the spindle between thehandle 4: and the adjacent face of the door, for a purpose to bepresently disclosed, a washer 6 being preferably loosely mounted uponthe spindle at such inner face of the door, in order to prevent thespring from scratching or otherwise marring the same. To the outer endof the spindle is rigidly secured a latch bar 7 that is formed with anopening 8 in which the end of the spindle is received, and which isdetachably connected thereto in any approved manner,

as by means of a cotter pin 9 or the like, the

expansion spring 5 tending to slide the spindle 3 inwardly through thedoor, and thus holding the latch bar frictionally against the outer faceof the same.

In its normal or operative position, the extremity of the latch barprojects laterally beyond the adjacent edge of the door and is designedto be engaged with a substantially vertically disposed keeper 10 that isconstructed of an integral bar of metal secured at its opposite ends ina suitable position on the outer face of the door frame 2, the keeperbeing offset in close proximity to its upper end, and the main portionof the keeper being inclined inwardly and downwardly in convergentrelation to the face of the door frame so as to provide a down wardlytapering opening into which the pro jecting end of the latch bar isdesigned to be wedged. For convenience, the latch bar is cast orotherwise formed with an outstanding bowed portion or handle 11 whichextends longitudinally thereof and the terminals of which join with thelatch bar on opposite sides of the point of fixture of the same to thespindle.

In the operation of the catch, when the door is closed and the latch barengaged with the keeper, one of the handles 4 or 11. is grasped, and thespindle 3 turned in the requisite direction so as to move the latch bar7 upwardly to withdraw the same from the keeper, thereby releasing thedoor and admitting of the same being opened from either side, accordingas desired. It is to be observed that by mounting the expansion springupon the spindle 3, in the manner hereinbefore described, the latch baris held in frictional engagement with the outer face of the door and isthus effectually maintained in raised position and substantially out ofthe way, after having been lifted out of engagement with the keeper. Inadditionto its function just described, attention is directed to thefact that the spring also serves to absorb the shock, in event of thedoor being blown to or otherwise accidentally closed, and the projectingextremity of the latch bar impacted against the keeper or some otherobstruction.

Nith the construction just described, it will be obvious that the doorfastening is susceptible of holding the door in substantially closedposition, even when the door is swollen or has become sagged so as toprevent it from closing tightly against the door frame, by engaging thelatch bar with the enlarged upper portion of the keeper, whereby anyfurther downward movement of the latch bar causes the same to ride uponthe inwardly inclined portion of the keeper, and thus effects thefurther inward movement of the door against the frame with considerableforce. If desired, I may employ a suitable catch which is arranged onthe outside of the building or the like and is adapted for engagementwith the latch bar to hold the door in open position.

Among the many advantages residing in this structure, it will be seenthat the fastener may be easily and quickly applied to both rightandleft-hand swinging doors and to doors of different thicknesses, that itembodies to a marked degree the characteristics of simplicity,durability and efficiency in construction and operation, and that itconsists of comparatively few parts that may be easily and cheaplymanufactured and readily assembled.

It is to be understood that the extremity of the spindle to which thelatch bar is se cured, may be round or polygonal in cross sectionaccording as desired.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim is:

l. A door fastener comprising a spindle mounted in the door forreciprocatory ro tation and projecting beyond opposite faces thereof, alatch bar detachably fixed to one end of the spindle to turn therewith,the opposite end of the spindle being bent to form a laterally disposedhandle, a washer loosely mounted on the spindle and arranged at the faceof the door adjacent to the handle, an expansion spring encircling thespindle and confined between the handle and the washer and tending tohold the latch bar frictionally against the corresponding face of thedoor, and a catch adapted for engagement with the latch bar.

2. A door latch embodying a spindle mounted in the door forreciprocatory rotation and projecting beyond the opposite faces thereof,a latch bar detachably fixed at an intermediate point to one end of thespindle to turn therewith, a bowed handle out-- standing from the latchbar and extending longitudinally thereof, the terminals of said handlebeing joined to the latch bar on opposite sides of the point of fixtureof the same to the spindle, a second handle carried at the other end ofthe spindle, a washer loosely mounted on the spindle and arranged V atthe face of the door adjacent to the last named handle, and an expansionspring encircling the spindle and confined between the washer and thesecond handle and tending to hold the latch bar frictionally against thecorresponding face of the door.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ALMO BERDAN. [n s] \Vitnesses:

CHAS. E. GHRIsMAN J. FRY.

